Publication Date

Spring 2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Larry Maucieri, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Barbara Gormley, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Patricia Robey, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Shannon Dermer, Ph.D.

Abstract

LGBTQ individuals are at a higher risk for mental health problems and have a greater need for mental health related services than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, due to discrimination, harassment, and violence, and yet they continue to face discrimination in mental health care settings. Furthermore, the lack of LGBTQ counseling competency continues to be documented. Counselor educators play a critical role in shaping students’ attitudes toward LGBTQ persons; however, their social attitudes towards LGBTQ identities and LGBTQ equality remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of LGBT social attitudes of counselor educators who teach in CACREP-accredited programs in relation to their attitudes toward non-LGBT social issues, the extent of their relationships with LGBTQ individuals, and their critical consciousness. Multivariate analyses found that critical consciousness accounted for 40.6% of the variance in LGBT social attitudes. Among the three factors (i.e., racism, classism, and heterosexism), heterosexism explained 22.8% of the variance in the outcome variable. Group mean scores of respondents who had and had not had direct close contact with LGBTQ persons were compared. How the conceptual frameworks of critical consciousness, intersectionality, and queer theory could be integrated into counselor training was discussed.

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